Gongsun took Ethan Xiao and rode a donkey, strolling leisurely along the way. One day, they came to the foot of Qingyang Mountain. Qingyang Mountain is located in the north of Qingyang City. The official road in front of the mountain is an important road connecting the north and the south. Anyone who wants to enter Kaifeng from the south or the north must pass through here. Therefore, there are many post stations and inns along the way in the Qingyang area.
Gongsun rode his donkey around the small path and got onto the official road. He was also shocked. From a distance, he felt that this was not an official road at all, but just a small market.
"Daddy, it's so lively." Little Sizi had been sitting in front of Gongsun. Fearing that he would be cold, Gongsun wrapped him in a white sheep blanket and put on the white rabbit hat. Looking down, he saw a white head with ears dangling from side to side.
Gongsun stretched out his hand and pinched the rabbit ears on Ethan Xiao's hat, and asked, "Ethan Xiao, are you hungry? Let's find an inn to eat and stay, okay?"
"Yes." Ethan Xiao nodded and went over to Gongsun and said, "Daddy, I want to eat egg custard."
"Okay, make an egg custard with shredded silver fish and chopped green onions." Gongsun pinched his cheek.
As he was talking, he heard the sound of hurried horse hooves behind him. Gongsun was a little puzzled, wondering who was riding a horse so fast? He turned back to look, but before he could see clearly, a gust of wind blew by and a man and a horse passed by.
Both the man and the horse were black. The horse galloped all the way to the entrance of the market. The man grabbed the horse's head, and the horse raised its front hooves and neighed loudly, holding the stake in place... scaring many passers-by.
Gongsun noticed that the man's horse was unusually tall, bigger and stronger than any other horse, with a frizzy mane, a long face, and ears that curled inward like goat horns. The most peculiar thing was its mouth, which was shaped more like a beak than a horse's mouth, and was a little pointed and hooked...
Gongsun frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Dragon Bird Race."
"What?" Little Sizi looked up at Gongsun, stretched out his white and tender little hands, tidied up Gongsun's slightly messy hair, and said with a smile, "Daddy is so handsome."
Gongsun stretched out his hand and pinched his nose, and said with a smile, "How old are you? Do you know how good-looking it is?"
Little Sizi's face was red, and he said, "Yeah, Daddy is handsome."
Gongsun shook his head, what a little idiot.
When he looked up again, he saw the man in black sitting on his horse and looking around. He was tall and strong, with a straight back. Gongsun looked at his figure and thought he must have been riding a horse to fight for many years. The man attracted the attention of many people. The horse kept pacing and making a wheezing sound, as if it wanted to run.
Little Sizi also noticed the horse and asked Gongsun, "Dad, that horse is so big."
"That kind of horse is called a Sailongque." Gongsun said to Ethan Xiao, "These horses all come from the Western Regions. Judging from my physique, this horse should be the leader of a herd of at least a thousand horses. It is very fierce, has good endurance and great strength. It should be a top-notch war horse. That man is probably a soldier."
"Join the army?" Little Sizi tilted his head to look, then turned around and hugged Gongsun's waist, saying, "Daddy, that man is so fierce."
Gongsun smiled and said, "You can tell he's fierce just by looking at his back?"
"Yeah." Ethan Xiao buried his head in Gongsun's armpit and didn't want to look.
Gongsun shook his head, put his arm around him, patted the donkey, walked around the man, and went to an inn nearby.
That inn looked a little deserted, but also quite clean, and appeared to be more upscale than the surrounding inns.
Gongsun's family was considered a wealthy family in Yazhu Village, with many properties left by their ancestors, so the family was well-off. In addition, Gongsun had always been a doctor and a teacher, and he was a good painter and calligrapher. Often wealthy families in the town would come to him to ask for calligraphy and paintings, and each word would cost a fortune, so he was very generous. Along the way, in order to avoid trouble, Gongsun and Ethan Xiao chose a more upscale place to stay. This time, he took a fancy to the inn with an elegant name - Ya Ke Ju.
The donkey stopped in front of the inn. Gongsun got off the horse first, then reached out to hug Ethan Xiao.
At the same time, the black horse came over here and stopped behind Gongsun. The man in black jumped off the horse.
Gongsun was slightly distracted. He felt a little disgusted by the man's behavior just now. Firstly, he was so arrogant and seemed a bit ostentatious; secondly, riding so fast in a crowded place was simply disregarding other people's lives.
When Gongsun was distracted, Ethan Xiao didn't notice it. He put his arms around Gongsun's neck and pounced on him. Gongsun subconsciously reached out to catch him.
In fact, every time Gongsun carried Little Sizi off the horse, he had to be very careful because Little Sizi was taken care of too well by Gongsun. The little guy was chubby and quite heavy, but Gongsun himself was too thin and it was difficult for him to carry him.
After catching Ethan Xiao, Gongsun wanted to step aside and put Ethan Xiao on the ground, but at the same time, the person behind him got off the horse in a hurry, threw the reins to the waiter, and said, "Hey, water the horses." Then he rushed into the inn like a gust of wind.
His movements were too fast and he bumped into Gongsun... Gongsun was no match for him and staggered.
Seeing that he was about to fall forward, Gongsun was startled. There was a threshold in front of him. He was holding Ethan Xiao in his arms. He must not bump into Ethan Xiao! Gongsun was anxious and didn't care about much else. He quickly turned over and fell down on his back.
Just as he closed his eyes and waited to fall, he felt a hand grabbing his waist and lifting him up...his whole body was pulled up.
A voice asked, "Girl, are you okay?"
Gongsun felt the world spinning before his eyes. He finally stood firm and realized that he was supported by someone. At that moment, three thoughts flashed through Gongsun's mind: someone saved him, and he should say thank you.
The one who bumped into him just now was the B@st@ard in black, causing him to almost fall on Ethan Xiao.
Just now someone seemed to call him a girl...
Gongsun turned around and saw the man holding him and hugging his waist, looking at him curiously... it was the man in black. When he turned around, the expression on the face of the man in black who was looking at him was also unusually asking for a beating.
Who is this man in black? It is the Ninth Prince Zane Zhao who is rushing to Kaifeng from the border.
Zane Zhao ran all the way and had a great time. When he arrived at the foot of Qingyang Mountain that day, he felt a little hungry and wanted to find a place to stay. He chose this inn because there were fewer people here and it was quieter.
As soon as he got off the horse, he glanced at the person next to him who was getting off the horse with a child in her arms... Zane Zhao only saw her back, and that figure was very thin. Zane Zhao glanced at her shoulders and waist... His heart moved slightly, this girl has a great figure!
Zane Zhao had been in the army for many years, and he hated scholars the most. In the entire Zhao family army, even if you were a scholar, you had to have practiced martial arts, otherwise he would drive you out. Therefore, in his concept, men were all physically strong.
This person's waist is less than the width of his palm, he has thin shoulders, long legs, a thin neck, fair skin and long hair. He is definitely a woman. He is curious about what this woman looks like. She looks so beautiful from the back, so she must be a beauty from the front as well.
But Zane Zhao also noticed the little baby...The child was so cute that Zane Zhao couldn't help but sigh. Alas, she even gave birth to a baby. It seemed that this beauty was already married.
So he shook his head and walked quickly into the inn, but unexpectedly he bumped into someone.
Zane Zhao turned around suddenly and saw that the "girl" was willing to use herself as a cushion to prevent her baby from falling. He couldn't help but admire her. He quickly raised his hand to pick her up and asked in a low voice as gently as possible, "Girl, are you okay?"
At the same time, the "girl" turned around and looked at him.
When Zane Zhao saw him, three years flashed through his mind.
Wow, you are so young. You have a child that big at such a young age?
Beauty, beauty, how can you be so beautiful?
...seems to be a man...
Zane Zhao opened his mouth in horror and looked at Gongsun, while Gongsun looked at him angrily.
When Zane Zhao came to his senses, he scratched his cheek and said, "I thought it was a woman..."
Gongsun originally wanted to ignore him and take Ethan Xiao inside. Ethan Xiao seemed to be frightened, so he had to quickly prepare some delicious food to calm him down and prevent him from getting sick. He also wanted to ignore the fact that Zane Zhao bumped into him and called him a girl, after all, he was quick-witted and saved him once... But Zane Zhao should never have added that sentence, which was a great insult to Gongsun!
The little fourth child was still in Gongsun's arms. He looked up at Zane Zhao, put his arms around Gongsun's neck, and whispered to Gongsun, "Daddy, what did he say?"
Gongsun looked at Ethan Xiao, pointed at Zane Zhao and said to him, "Ethan Xiao, remember this kind of person. If you see him next time, avoid him. He is either a pervert or a hooligan." After that, he ignored Zane Zhao who was stunned, hugged Ethan Xiao and turned across the threshold, and said to the equally stunned waiter, "Drink donkey, man!"
"Uh... okay." The guy quickly led Gongsun's little donkey to the stable at the back and fed it with hay and water.
Zane Zhao closed his mouth for a long while, and suddenly, he felt his right eyelid twitching so much that it hurt.
Gongsun walked into the inn, put Ethan Xiao on a seat, and asked the waiter to serve three dishes and a soup, one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, plus two steamed buns, a meat bun, and a bowl of egg custard with shredded whitebait and chopped green onions.
The waiter saw that Ethan Xiao looked very cute and liked it, so he said that he had some freshly baked bunny red bean paste buns. Would the young master like some? Gongsun smiled and nodded, saying yes.
While Zane Zhao's eyelids were twitching at the door, a large group of people and horses also rushed to the door of the inn. They dismounted and entered the inn, shouting to the waiter, "Hey, bring us some liquor, steamed buns, and good meat!"
Zane Zhao turned back and went into the inn to find a seat...but all the seats were full.
In the whole restaurant, only Gongsun's table had an empty seat... the others were all occupied. Zane Zhao felt a little depressed and thought he might as well go to another restaurant. Just as he was about to leave, the waiter came running over and said, "Sir, there is an empty seat there." As he spoke, he led Zane Zhao to Gongsun's table.
Zane Zhao was reluctant to go over, but he saw Gongsun looking up and giving him a warning look, as if to say - you'd better not come over.
Zane Zhao has a strange temper. The more you confront him, the more he becomes stubborn. He thinks, "Am I afraid of you? I'll just sit opposite you!" After thinking about it, he swaggered over and sat down on the seat opposite Gongsun and Ethan Xiao. He said to the waiter, "Hey, what delicious food do you have in this restaurant?" The waiter smiled and listed a few of the restaurant's signature dishes. Zane Zhao thought for a while and said, "I want a pork belly with vinegar, eggplant pancake with fish flavor, steamed chicken with winter vegetables and minced meat, hmm, and a Dongting mandarin fish, two cold dishes, three steamed buns, a big bowl of beef noodles, and a pot of good wine.
"Okay." After hearing this, the waiter turned around and went to serve the dishes.
Zane Zhao sat at the table leisurely, looking around. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the group of people who had just come in. There were thirteen or fourteen of them, all wearing black cotton shirts and carrying knives... Zane Zhao frowned slightly. These people were dressed like ordinary Han people, but they all wore a belt around their waists with a gray mountain rat decoration on the belt. They were Liao people. In addition, there was a circle of yellow weasel hair on the scabbards of those people's knives. Zane Zhao knew in his heart that they were horse thieves from the Liao border area... These people were murderers who specialized in killing people and robbing goods. Why did they come here? It seemed that this small market town was in trouble.
At this time, the dishes ordered by Gongsun and his friends were served first. Gongsun ordered one meat dish and two vegetables, namely, Jinling salted duck, lychee meat and stuffed tofu, and a crucian carp soup. In addition, the waiter gave Ethan Xiao a small portion of exquisite stewed egg custard and two hot white rabbit bean paste buns that were as cute as him. Gongsun took a spoon, mixed the egg custard, blew it cool carefully, and let Ethan Xiao hold the spoon to eat it himself.
Little Sizi took a bite with the spoon in his hand and said with a smile, "Daddy, it's delicious."
Gongsun smiled, reached out, took a small bowl, scooped out the fish roe from the crucian carp's belly, picked up a piece of tender meat from the crucian carp's belly, carefully picked out the fish bones, scooped up the delicious fish soup, and brought it to Ethan Xiao, saying, "Eat this."
Ethan Xiao pursed his lips and muttered quietly, "Don't eat caviar."
Gongsun pinched his cheek and said, "Eating fish roe is good for your health, dear."
Ethan Xiao obediently scooped a spoonful of fish roe and ate it, and then scooped a spoonful of egg custard and ate it.
Gongsun broke open a steamed bun and ate it with the vegetables, occasionally picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks and stuffing it into Ethan Xiao's mouth.
Zane Zhao supported his chin with one hand, and unconsciously stared at the father and son eating in front of him... He felt inexplicably warm.
I sighed in my heart, this man may be young and thin, but he really loves his son... In addition, Zane Zhao felt a little frustrated, how could he have such a big son at such a young age? He didn't even have a sweetheart.
Just as he was thinking about it, the waiter brought up his dish. Zane Zhao started eating and found it tasted good. Thinking that there was a miracle doctor who could cure his mother's illness, he felt very happy. He finished a bun in just a few bites and began to slurp noodles.
Little Sizi leaned close to Gongsun's ear and whispered, "Daddy, he is such a big eater."
"Cough, cough." Zane Zhao coughed twice and thought to himself, little kid, you are surprised by what you have seen. You have never seen people in the military camp eating meat with lamb legs or eating with wooden barrels.
Gongsun glanced at Zane Zhao. From his various habits, he could tell that this man should be a soldier. He was a little puzzled as to why he appeared here alone.
At this time, he heard a few Liao people not far away talking in a babble. Zane Zhao frowned after listening. What these Liao people were saying was that the Central Plains was rich. They wanted to rob him tonight, get some silver, and bring back some pretty girls.
When Zane Zhao turned around, he saw Gongsun also frowning and glancing at the Liao people.
Zane Zhao was puzzled. Could this scholar understand what the Liao people said?
Gongsun thought about it for a while, and said to Ethan Xiao, "Ethan Xiao, you eat first. Daddy is going to the bathroom and will be back soon."
"Well, daddy will be back soon." said Ethan Xiao.
Gongsun nodded, stood up and left, but he went to the kitchen.
Zane Zhao was eating by himself when he saw Ethan Xiao glance at Gongsun and then disappear. He quickly scooped all the fish roe in the bowl back into the fish soup, stirred it, looked up, and saw Zane Zhao looking at him, so he blushed and whispered to him, "Hush."
Zane Zhao thought he was really cute, so he smiled, pointed at the food on his plate, and asked him, "Do you want to eat some food?"
Little Sizi shook his head and whispered, "Daddy said that we can't eat food given by strangers."
Zane Zhao raised the corner of his mouth and smiled.
Not long after, Gongsun came back and sat down next to Ethan Xiao.
Behind him, the waiter came out with food prepared for the Liao people. The Liao people opened the jars of liquor one by one and began to drink while eating meat with big mouthfuls.
Zane Zhao finished his portion and touched his stomach to feel full. He thought about using these Liao people to help digest the food. After all, they couldn't be allowed to harm the village. Suddenly, he saw those Liao people staggering...all falling to the ground.
Zane Zhao felt strange that the Liao people looked as if they had been drugged.
"Sir, sir." The waiter hurried to Gongsun's side and said, "I have put the medicine in the wine. How long will it take for them to wake up?"
Gongsun waved his hand gently and said, "He won't wake up for a while. Have you informed the authorities?"
"I've already gone..." As he was speaking, a large group of bailiffs came in, "Where are the robbers?"
The waiter went up quickly and said, "Sir, these are Liao people. They are all mountain bandits. They said they were going to commit murder tonight. The young master used drugs to make them all unconscious."
The officers walked over, picked up the gray rat pendant on the Liao man's waist and looked at it. They all frowned. The leader said, "Oh my goodness, this group of people has looted several villages, but I didn't expect to fall into the hands of a scholar today."
The constable came over to thank Gongsun, who shook his head and said, "It's nothing. It will take them a day and a night to wake up, and after waking up they will have vomiting and diarrhea for ten days. They will be exhausted and powerless, and have no ability to resist. This is a lesson for them to bully us Han people."
"You are very good at this, sir." The detectives happily tied up the Liao people and went back to the government office.
Gongsun turned back and pinched Ethan Xiao's cheek, "You put the fish roe back again?"
Ethan Xiao stuck out his tongue, lowered his head and continued to eat the egg custard. He reached out and pulled off a rabbit ear from the little rabbit bun next to him and stuffed it into his mouth.
Gongsun stuffed a piece of duck meat into his mouth and said, "You can't eat sweet and salty together."
Zane Zhao raised his eyebrows and looked at Gongsun. For the first time in his life, he had a little doubt about the saying that a scholar is useless.
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